Hello Lovelies,

I hope you're all doing well and staying safe.

I'm back at work now and time is a bit precious, but please know I'll still be posting as often as I physically can!

Some of you may have noticed I have stopped replying to reviews - both privately to those who sign in, and in my A/N for guests who leave a pseudonym. I've found that I'm spending a lot of time messaging everyone and that does cut into the time I can spend writing. I hope none of you mind. I still read every single review and message, and I appreciate all of them. I simply want to post chapters more frequently, which I hope will please everyone.

I hope you understand. Thank you for your continued support!

Much Love,

Chelsea x


The rest of Saturday was spent relaxing in the spa, followed by a show. It was a quiet and easy day to make sure we fully recuperated after the events of the night before. Luckily, both Kate and I were feeling a million times better. Whatever the suspect lobster had done was well and truly out of my system now. Kate's sickness was lingering, but she was getting there.

On Sunday morning, Christian and I abandoned the group for some alone time. Kate and Elliot were in bed, watching a movie in their suite, and Mia was having breakfast with Leo before he leaves later today. They had been messaging each other most of yesterday, and saw each other again last night. He had come over to greet us again, still as painfully nervous as he had been. The brothers were a little easier on him, though. Not much, but he was an improvement.

Hand in hand, we walked down the strip. The sun was breaking through the thick cover of clouds overhead, threatening to bring rain to the city. There were a lot of early birds with the same idea as us, no doubt making the most of the calm before the storm. Taking a moment to enjoy the chance to walk without being shoulder-t0-shoulder with a hoard of others.

"Have you had fun?" Christian asked, pulling me closer into his side as we passed a small group of women. They wolf-whistled him and he shook his head, his cheeks flushing slightly. "So? Have you?"

"I have," I smiled. I tucked my arm around his back, resting my hand on his hip. "It's been very relaxing. If you can forget about the food poisoning."

"Hm."

Christian didn't tell me the outcome of his meeting with the hotel chefs, but I sensed it hadn't been productive. He had been on the phone to Carrick earlier, talking about the issue. I suspect a lawsuit was definitely in the making.

"Have you enjoyed yourself?" I asked.

"I have," he nodded. He removed his sunglasses, pushing them up on his head. "It's been quiet. Just what I wanted."

"Elliot seems to have behaved himself," I observed.

"First time for everything, I guess," he snorted. "He's surprised me. No wild ideas or stupid games. I'm glad he finally listened to me."

"He probably didn't want to piss you off," I giggled. "It wasn't that long ago you broke his nose. It's only just healed properly. He can't risk another break."

Christian gave a wry smirk as he thought back to the fight that resulted in Elliot's broken nose. I think he took more satisfaction from it than he maybe should have. Definitely more than Elliot would like him to, that's for sure. Thankfully, they are in a much better place these days. They bicker, but no fighting.

We strolled towards the famous fountains and sat down, turning into each other as the sprays of water rushed up in sequence behind us.

"I didn't think I'd like Vegas," I said, glancing around. "It's never really appealed to me, but I've liked it here. Not my first choice, but it has been fun."

"A change of scenery is always nice," he agreed with a nod. "I have to admit this has been one of my better stays here."

"It has?"

"Business trips are boring," he explained. "Long days and even longer nights. Once I've sealed a deal, the rest is perfunctory. But getting to actually explore places is different to me. It's interesting."

"There's a lot to see beyond a board room or a hotel suite," I smiled.

"I'm realising that now."

"Good!"

"Would you like to come back here someday?"

"Maybe," I shrugged. "There are a lot of other places I want to visit, though."

"I know," he smiled. "I have the list somewhere and, to my horror, it only seems to be getting bigger."

"Shut up," I rolled my eyes. "You bloody love doing touristy shit with me."

"That's debatable…"

I arched my brow at him and he smirked, a dimple forming in his cheek.

"Okay, I admit it," he laughed. "I do love touristy shit. But only with you, baby."

He gripped my knee with his hand and leaned forward, pecking my lips.

"You know," he began, clearing his throat. "When we get home, we need to crack on with the wedding plans."

"I know," I nodded, agreeing with him. I let out a soft sigh. "There's so much to finalise still."

"I have a list."

"You do?" I frowned. "I don't have a list."

"I'm a list guy," he shrugged. "I'm more anal than you."

I snorted under my breath. He rolled his eyes.

"Okay. Hit me with it," I said, riding out my laugh. "What's on the list?"

"Well, we've already decided we don't want a religious ceremony," he reminded me. "But who will officiate it for us? Do we get an outsider or choose someone we know?"

"We can do that? It doesn't have to be someone official?"

"No," he shook his head. "I've been researching it. Pretty much anyone can get ordained and officiate a wedding. We're going to sort out the paperwork before anyway, so it'll just be our vows to each other and stuff."

I stared at him. "Have you thought about who you want to do it?"

"Maybe…"

"Who?"

"Taylor," he revealed. He shrugged his shoulders. "We're keeping numbers down with the bridesmaids and groomsmen, but I would like him to be involved somewhere. I've spent years with him and, to be honest, I don't know how I'd have survived if it wasn't for him. He's my friend, as well as my security."

"He should be involved," I agreed, smiling. "But do you think he'd do it?"

"I can ask."

"And cajole him into saying yes?" I chuckled. He winked at me. "Okay, so that's one thing potentially sorted. What next?"

"Venue."

"Ah."

"I know," he sighed.

We had looked at several locations online, many of them at Kate's suggestion, but nothing seemed quite right. They were either too big for our small party or too archaic for our modern-ish tastes.

And getting married outdoors was definitely out of the question. New Year's Eve was likely to bring snow, rain or a combination of the two!

"We're running out of time," I hummed. "Everywhere good is going to be booked out for New Year's parties at this rate."

"I'm not worried about that," he said. "What I'm concerned about is the fact nowhere has been the right choice. We've looked at a lot of great places, but none of them have suited us."

"So what do we do? Get married at city hall and be done with it?"

"No," he frowned, dismissing that idea in an instant. "I'm saying, what if we're looking in the wrong places? What if we should consider getting married closer to home?"

"Are you talking literally?"

"Yes."

"Like our apartment?"

It was my turn to frown.

As much as I love the way Mia has renovated Escala and made it our own, I'm not sure it's appropriate for a wedding. Where the hell would we hold the ceremony? In the kitchen?

"No," he rolled his eyes. "I'm thinking about my parents' house. They hold functions and parties there all the time. The library and banquet room are always being taken over for events. Mom and Dad are used to it. They love that kind of stuff."

"I'm not sure…"

"Picture this. The library opens out into the rose garden and the main patio," he added, his soft and luring voice drawing me in. "We could frame the doors with an arch of flowers, and we can pass through it to the reception. You love symbolic shit like that, right? Ceremony in the library – somewhere you love…"

"Not sure I'd call it symbolic shit, but I get your point."

"We can have a tent built on the lawn and fill it with space heaters," he continued. "With everyone inside, it'd soon warm up."

"You've really thought this through, haven't you?"

"I've given it some thought," he fibbed.

"For how long?"

"I've been considering the idea for a few days," he admitted. "I think it's a sound choice. It's somewhere we're comfortable. It's private. You couldn't get closer to us unless we host the wedding in our bedroom!"

I bit down on my lip, chewing over the suggestion.

"Do you seriously think it's possible?"

"Of course," he nodded.

"Aren't you forgetting one very important thing?"

"What?"

"That we need to ask Grace and Carrick first?" I shook my head. "Christian, we can't just decide we're having our wedding at their house without consulting them first. We need their permission for a start!"

"But you haven't rejected the idea," he fired back, holding up his finger. "You haven't said no."

"I haven't, but –"

"Think about it," he said, refusing to let it go. "The bookcases decorated with flower garlands. Candles dotted around the room. A string quartet next to the piano I played as a child…"

"I know what you're doing."

"What?"

"You're bulldozing me."

"I would never," he said. I arched my brow. "Okay. Fine. But I truly love the idea. I couldn't think of anywhere more suitable. If you hate it, then –"

"I didn't say I hated it!"

"But…?"

"We can't just takeover your parents' home. I mean it, we need their permission."

"And if we get it?"

I remained quiet for a moment.

The idea was growing on me. It sounded like the perfect solution to the problem. He's right – not that I wanted to admit it out loud. I do feel at home at Bellevue, it's a special place and homely. Isn't that what we want our wedding to be about? Family? Love?

With a smile, he reached into his pocket and removed his phone. He scrolled through his contacts for a second and then pressed the phone to his ear.

"Hi, Mom," he spoke cheerfully. "Yes, we're great. We're having an amazing time. How are you and Dad? Good… Listen, I know this is out of the blue, but I have something I need to ask… No, it's not bad. Actually, it's about the wedding."

I rolled my eyes.

Of course he would get straight to the point. He doesn't like small talk.

"How would you feel if we had the wedding at home?" he asked. "No, Bellevue… Would that be okay with you?"

He quickly pulled the phone away from his ear, squinting his eyes as a high-pitched squeal blasted from the speaker.

"Is that a yes?" he checked, daring to place the phone back to his ear. "Amazing. Thank you… Okay, I'll call you later. Let you calm down a bit… I love you too… I will tell her. Bye."

He hung up and dropped his hand, turning his eyes to me and grinning hard.

"Grace said to tell you she loves and misses you," he told me. I smiled at that. "She's on board with the idea."

"Yeah, I got that impression."

"So? Are you on board too?"

I nodded my head and slid closer to him. He cheered and hugged me tight.

"Yes," I giggled. "You've bamboozled me."

"I do love a win," he hummed. I poked him in the rib and he chuckled. "Thank you. It will mean a lot to me, to get married at home."

"You're welcome."

"Well, that's the venue sorted." He kissed the top of my head. "Now we have a venue, we can send out invitations."

"Have you got your suit?"

"I have. What about your dress?"

"I have a fitting coming up," I replied. "The designer has taken my ideas and already made a dress. I just need to try it on and see what needs altering."

"What about the bridesmaid dresses?"

"Sorted," I nodded.

I slipped my hand into the pocket of my denim jacket and took out my own phone. Coyly turning the screen away to avoid him seeing any images of my dress, I pulled up the photos I took of Mia and Kate's gowns.

With our chosen colours of silver and blue in mind, Kate and Mia had opted for different colour dresses to set themselves apart. As my only official bridesmaid, Mia opted for a soft grey dress that featured an empire waist and gently skimmed her wide hips. Kate, my maid-of-honour, chose a deep sapphire blue gown. It was more figure-hugging than Mia's, and the hem flared out liked a mermaid's tail.

"Beautiful," he agreed.

"Mia is having some lace added to the top of her bodice," I explained. "She wants a bardot style that will give her some floaty, capped sleeves… and Kate is having slits on either side of her dress. Only a few inches, though.

"Modest," he approved. "I don't want her going overboard. This is our day. I don't want her and Elliot running off and making babies during the ceremony!"

"We might need to rein Mia in too," I muttered. "She's mentioned asking Leo to be her plus-one."

"We'll see," he replied, choosing not to dip deeper into the subject. "It's not long now. Just few weeks before we're hitched."

"I know," I breathed. "Scared yet?"

"No," he answered quickly. "You?"

"Nope," I shook my head. "Nervous, yes, but not scared."

"Oh god, yes, the nerves are there."

I lifted my head and looked at him.

"What?" he squeaked. "All those people staring at us. Why do you think I was quick to agree to a small, intimate wedding? I hate large gatherings. Even more than I hate being stared at."

"For such a famous guy, you really hate attention, don't you?"

"Despise it," he nodded. "If I could live my life behind an invisible barrier, I would. But I can't, so I try my best to keep people at arm's length."

"Except me."

"Of course," he agreed. He kissed the tip of my nose. "I can't get rid of you. You don't know how to take a hint."

"You're only going ahead with the wedding because it means you're guaranteed to get laid on the regular," I joked, winking at him.

"I'm pretty sure that's the only reason people get married," he said. "Apart from being knocked up and wanting to do the right thing."

"No one ever gets married for love. Only ever because of babies and sex."

"And sex often leads to babies."

"It's a vicious cycle!"

He laughed and planted a heavy kiss on my lips.

"Come on, my ball and chain," he hummed. He pushed to his feet and pulled me up with him. "Let's enjoy the rest of our day. Soon as we get home it will be wedding central."

"Is it weird if I'm kinda looking forward to it?"

"I hope not!"

"No, I mean, people say planning weddings are stressful."

"Most people don't have a mother like mine, a sister like Mia, or a best friend like Kate," he said. "With the three of them, we don't need to lift a finger. They're like the Charlie's Angels of party planning."

"Bring on the flared jeans and bouncy curls."

"You will never get Grace in jeans," he said, shaking his head. "It'll be a cold day in hell before she's seen in denim. She won't even let Carrick wear it. She hates it. Too casual, apparently."

"She doesn't know what she's missing," I shook my head. "I could live in jeans forever."

"I wish I was inside your jeans," he quipped under his breath. I swatted his chest and he laughed at me. "Back to the hotel. Now. I want you laid out on our bed as soon as possible."

"Naked?"

"Of course."

"Nice," I nodded. "I would offer to race you but I know you'll win."

"I always win, you have to get used to that, baby. I'm always right too…"

"Fuck off," I shot back. He arched his head back and let out an enormous, unrestrained laugh. "Now you're just talking stupid."

"We'll see, baby… We'll see."